LIVINGSTON, Ala. – After dropping its first conference match of the season against the Statesmen, the West Alabama men's basketball team got sweet revenge Thursday night inside Pruitt Hall Gymnasium. In their regular season's penultimate game, the Tigers took Delta State, 73-56.
Kortrijk Miles put up his 11th double-double to lead UWA Thursday. The Dallas, Texas native scored 24 points and brought down 15 rebounds for a game-high in both categories.
Two other Tigers scored in the double-digits against DSU. Shardarrion Allen added 12 to the Tigers' total, and Te Smith hit 11.
As a squad, West Alabama (21-5, 15-4 Gulf South Conference) hit 31 of 69 (48.3 percent) from the floor, including six of 22 (27.3) in three-point range. The Tigers added eight on 10 attempts (80.0 percent) at the line.
Delta State (10-15, 9-10 GSC) hit 20 of 52 (38.5 percent) from the field, with six of 25 (24.0 percent) from beyond the arc. The Statesmen also made seven of their 15 (46.7 percent) free throws. Airen Brooks led DSU with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Mallik Cartwright scored 13.
It was anyone's game until the halfway point of the first period when West Alabama went on an 8-0 run to take a 27-19 advantage with 8:30 left in the half. The Tigers continued to carry the lead until the break to lead the Statesman, 39-32.
Coming back from half-time, Cartwright's layup and a layup and free-throw from Brooks got Delta State within four, 41-37. It would be the closest the Statesmen would get as a three-pointer from Justin Allison, and back-to-back scoring from Miles started a scoring surge for the Tigers. UWA remained on top for the final minutes to close the game with a 76-53 victory.
The West Alabama men's basketball team will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 26, hosting Mississippi College in its final regular-season game. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. inside of Pruitt Hall Gymnasium.
To stay connected with the UWA Men's basketball team, follow @UWA_basketball on Twitter. General athletic news, along with game recaps and box scores, can be found at uwaathletics.com. Additional updates and information are available @UWAAthletics on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
